Don’t Accept That Counter Offer

Step Away From The Counter Offer!

So you’ve just accepted a job offer from another company and now it’s time to give your notice in.

You’re sitting face to face with your employer in the resignation meeting and have just been told that they were going to give you a raise within the next week or two, as well as a promotion and a bonus.

They may have also (or instead) said that they would match or better the offer that the other employer has offered.

Your employer is going to try and keep you for as long as they possibly can; when an employee says that they are planning on leaving, a Manager will almost one hundred percent of the time try to talk them out of leaving with a financial incentive.

Let’s get on to the subject of this post, why accepting that counter offer is a bad idea:

1. Your employers trust in you will almost certainly be weakened if you take that counter offer. If you have been speaking to other employers out there, then that trust is always going to be damaged. They might say “oh I’ve forgotten all about it”, but they’ll probably still become suspicious when you book a days holiday off.

2. Do you really have to give your notice in just to get a promotion? Is that really the kind of company you want to be employed by? If your employer wants to give you a raise or promotion based on your skillset and work for the company, surely they would have given it to you by now! Instead, they’re giving it to you because of the threat of you leaving, and for them to have to pay a lot of money to get someone else recruited.

3. When we look for another job, it’s very rare that it’s just for the salary increase. Most of the time, it’s something to do with relationships between yourself and someone else in the company, you want to develop yourself personally, want more responsibility, or want to work in an environment where you’re appreciated and rewarded.

Accepting that counter offer just for a bit more money isn’t going to solve this problem, you’ll probably end up leaving anyway! So consider that before / if you accept it!

4. Accepting a counter offer may also cause problems between yourself and your colleagues. They are probably going to lose respect for you and your boss who gave you that raise. They may resent you and become jealous. You don’t want to work in an environment like that, right?

Got any more cons to accepting a counter offer? We’d love to hear them! Put them in the comments below or send them to us through Twitter or Facebook.